Grocery Shopping

Similar to my Fun Facts about Santiago post, I decided to comment on a few of the differences between grocery shopping here and in the states.

Variety
Your average supermercado (grocery store) does not have a lot of variety compared to the US. For example, they only have Skim, 2%, and whole milk here. There is no half & half, no buttermilk etc. You can find soy, but not all store carry it.
(Fun Fact: I wanted to bake some chocolate chip cookies so I went to our local Jumbo, which is like a super Wal*Mart and they usually have a better selection than the other grocery stores. Anyways, after looking for about an hour I still could not find brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, or chocolate chips. I have also yet to see a single grape at any grocery store I've been to. Which is upsetting because frozen grapes on a hot day are delicious, but they don't really stock fruits and veggies if they aren't in season.)

Cracker: Where Art Thou?
They don't really "do" crackers here I guess. They have plenty of chips, but very few other types of salty snacks. If you're lucky you might find some pretzels or some soda crackers, but seriously, who eats soda crackers without cheese or some kind of spread?

Bags vs. Jars
A lot of condiments and spreads here are offered in packages as well as in jars. Everything from jam to mayonnaise to ketchup can be found in bags. For some reason, this actually really bothers me and grosses me out.

<--Mayonnaise. In packages! Tell me this doesn't weird you out...


(Fun Fact: Turns out you aren't supposed to take photos inside the grocery store by my house...I have no clue why, it's not like they are keeping trade secrets in there, but yeah, I got told off in Spanish by a very scary looking security guard.)

Milk in the Aisle
You don't find Milk in the refrigerated section next to the yogurt. Instead, all of the milk is in soy-milk-sized cartons in a regular aisle. I'm not sure how milk here is different exactly, but I guess you don't have to refrigerate it until after opening.

Instant Coffee
Seeing as how a lot of coffee is grown in Latin American countries, I assumed coffee would be a big deal here, but it really isn't. My family doesn't own a coffee maker, and this must not be that unusual because about 98% of the coffee at the store is instant.

Alcohol
It's sold in grocery stores! It's just so convenient!

Baggers
Every store has baggers to bag your groceries for you. This practice has mostly died out in the US, so it's weird not bagging my own groceries, but more than that, these baggers are usually not paid by the grocery store. They work solely on tips, which nobody told me the first few times I went...

Sorry there aren't more photos, but like I said, apparently you aren't allowed to take photos. :)